Parliamentarians urges FM to act against the imposition of ADD on VSF

Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu, Former Member of Parliament and critical figure in India’s textile and weaving industry and a delegate of MPs from across the political parties spoke to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to act against the recent Directorate General of Trade Remedies recommendation of imposing anti-dumping duty  on Viscose Staple Fibre. The MPs, along with Rapolu conveyed the urgency of the matter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She understood the concerns raised and assured that necessary measures would be taken. This endeavour by the delegates aims to ensure a secure ecosystem for India’s weavers and textile industry.

Further, another delegation of MPs and notable politicians, P.R. Natarajan,  M. Shanmugam, Neeraj Shekhar, M.d. Nadimul Haque, Dr. Amee Yajnik, Jose K Mani, K.R. Suresh Reddy, Saumitra Khan, Javed Ali Khan,  G. K. Vasan and Pradeep Gandhi along with  Rapolu signed a resolution letter elucidating the impact of ADD on Indian weaving and textile units. The letter was also shared with the relevant ministers and the Hon’ble Prime Minister.

India’s viscose value chain is facing a deficit since the domestic supply cannot fulfil the demand. Here, imports have become a source of relief for the downstream industry to procure quality raw materials at competitive prices especially when cotton prices were surging. However, with the re-imposition of the anti-dumping duty (ADD) on Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF), the entire value chain can be in a dire state as the imported fibre will cost 28% more. This will significantly impact many Indian weavers and spinners who rely on viscose yarn production as their source of livelihood. Hence, the present need is to ensure quality raw materials that can be procured at competitive and affordable prices. The first step towards ensuring the same is the non-imposition of the anti-dumping duty (ADD) on VSF.

Noting the conversation with the minister,Rapolu said, “Viscose is poor people’s silk, cotton blended with viscose is the future. Anti-dumping duty will obstruct the Indian textiles industry’s future. It is time we think of how to ensure safeguards and provide a level playing field in the industry. We have conveyed this message to the hon’ble Finance Minister and hope to see critical steps being taken by the government”.